THE WHITE HOUSE FOR KIDS

The latest installment in the For Kids series offers a biography of a house.

“Even if you don’t know your best friend’s house number, chances are you know the address for the White House.” The premise may or may not be true nowadays, but young readers will certainly be drawn in by this kid-friendly approach to history. The story of the White House represents much of the history of the United States, and it’s fitting that a biography of a house be written by an author named House. From George Washington, who died before the White House was finished and thus never slept there, to Barack Obama playing basketball at the White House, this narrative of American history is chock-full of photographs, diagrams and sidebars. The series’ signature activities include how to write a letter to the president, make stilts (since Theodore Roosevelt’s children loved walking the house and gardens on stilts), bake Chelsea Clinton’s chocolate-chip cookies and hold an egg race like the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House. Extensive backmatter includes lists of presidents and places to visits, Web resources and a bibliography, including a few sources for young readers. An engaging history of a country through the biography of its most famous dwelling. (Nonfiction. 8-12)